June 2010

Following up on today’s annual golf tournament to benefit the Dodgers Dream Foundation, tomorrow is the start of the ThinkCure Weekend. As you know, it’s all geared towards finding a cure for cancer and we certainly hope you will all find a way to donate in some way, if you have the means.

It starts at 6 a.m. on KABC 790, KLOS and KHJ (Spanish), and then at noon Prime Ticket there will be two straight days of amazing TV programming focused all on ThinkCure. They’ve really put a ton of effort into making this a memorable event to raise a lot of money for a great cause. KCAL will also be showing regular updates over the weekend, so find some time to tune in.

Even better, check out the really cool auction items. A chance to shag fly balls during BP, meet Vin Scully, have an Italian dinner with Tommy, take a batting lesson with Don Mattingly. There’s so much, it’s hard to list it all. In fact, there’s even a chance to follow around yours truly again and all I can say is that last year’s winner paid several thousand dollars and enjoyed it so much, he wound up doubling his donation just for the cause! But more on that later in the weekend…

And last but certainly not least, thank you all for the kind thoughts in the comments of the last post. We are truly blessed and appreciate all of your well wishes.

Is there a better history teacher than Vin Scully? He just finished giving viewers a recap of D-Day, June 6, 1944 and those who heard his words will surely remember them. But on his behalf, we ask you all to please take a moment to think about all that happened that day and how grateful we all are and should be for the sacrifice made by so many.

Another person we remember today is Jose Lima, whose son Jose Jr. threw out the first pitch just about half an hour ago. The anthem was a video of his dad from May 13, 2004 and it was a really special moment that I’m sure the family will remember for many years to come. Several players lingered out on the dugout steps after it finished in silent prayer and the legacy of Lima Time will live on in his children and all who knew him.

On a much lighter note, the Dodgers wish to congratulate Bobby Cox on an incredible career. We’ll be saluting him in-game today, his final regular season game at Dodger Stadium but here’s hoping that he’s back here for the postseason. A lot has to happen for that to come to pass, but if the season were to end today, these two teams could face off in the playoffs (there would be a number of play-in games).

But, there are still almost four months to go, so enjoy them. This will likely be the last blog post for a few days but we’ll be back soon…keep your eye on dodgers.com for all the latest news.

Word has spread quickly through Dodger Stadium that John Wooden has passed away. The entire Dodger organization extends our sincere thoughts to his family and friends, which include several members of the team…Vin Scully, Joe Torre and so many others.

My understanding is that Vin will mention Coach Wooden’s passing at the top of the fourth inning on the broadcast and there are few who can do so with such class. For those who were fortunate enough to meet him, it is surely something they’ll never forget.

Many of our then-young prospects, including tonight’s starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw, Blake DeWitt and Ramon Troncoso had the good fortunate to meet Coach Wooden during a private dinner one night during our Winter Development program on Jan. 11, 2008.

He will be missed by so many but his teachings and wise words of wisdom will carry forward for generations. There are so many great quotes, but here’s a personal favorite:

“It’s amazing how much you can accomplish when no one cares who gets the credit.”

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